S’mores – Recipe for Family Fun

Despite many pleas from the children, I have not taken them camping yet, which means we haven’t made what I will call REAL s’mores. Yes, I have one of those s’mores makers that were all the rage a few years ago and I vaguely recall making some s’mores with them that way, but having been a Girl Scout, this hardly seemed satisfactory.

You see, I am a hard-core, s’mores-loving-gal. How hard-core? I actually registered for these cool telescoping marshmallow forksfrom Crate & Barrel when JavaDad and I got married. When we had that little scanning gun and I saw those, I just had to have them!

When I took the incoming Junior League Board of Directors off to a mountain top retreat to plan our new year, I knew that our “fun activity” would be s’mores making in the gigantic fireplace at the lodge. What I didn’t know was that several of the women had never made s’mores before! The ensuing fun was quite hysterical. I’d post photos if I didn’t think they’d kill me.

So imagine my delight when I came home Thursday to find a box from Hershey’s, with all the fixings for s’mores — including a zippered case with four telescoping marshmallow forks (with far safer ends, I might add, than my Crate & Barrel ones, which could show up as a murder weapon on an episode of Bonesone day)! Despite the fact that it was thoughtfully packed with an ice pack, as it was one of the hottest days of the week, the chocolate bars had liquefied (which I rectified by putting them in the fridge), so please pardon the fact that they appear a bit mangled in the photos.

No, this was not some new, delicious form of junk mail, the kind folks at Hershey’s have sponsored a train ride for several area bloggers to go to the major conference in New York City this week, BlogHer, and I’m one of the bloggers who will be hopping on the S’mores Road Trip to BlogHer. I’m quite excited about the train ride, not only because of course, it defrays the cost of going to the conference to me (the rest of the conference is on my dime), and also the fun I’ll have gabbing with some fantastic bloggers, but because I’ve never taken a long train ride, so this will be a new adventure for me!

But back to the s’mores. Somehow both kids knew what this was all about — I think they saw it on a PBS show. For some reason, JavaBoy chimed in, “Hey, we can go to the woods and get crickets! Ruff Ruffman (PBS character) says they taste like peanut butter!” Uh, keep your “peanut butter” out of my chocolate kiddo! Me thinks I’ve let him have a little too much exposure to nature if he’s willing to eat crickets. Maybe I should let him play with the Wii more?

S’mores in suburbia

In case you’ve never made s’mores, you simply roast — or flambe if you prefer! — a marshmallow over a flame, then sandwich it between two graham crackers with a bit of chocolate on top of the marshmallow. The heat of the marshmallow should melt the chocolate to make an ooey-gooey mess. Yum! Girl Scouts usually lay claim to this treat and the name is usually credited to the cries to have “some more” of the camp fire treat.

Clearly, it was time to re-introduce this treat to the JavaKids more appropriately.

I just couldn’t resist those telescoping forks. But alas, we had no campfire. Nor, a cool firepit. And it was way too hot to contemplate building a fire in the fireplace. This meant… using the grill. One problem, I have never used the grill. Ever. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no sissy. In my reporter days I went out on drug busts with the cops, I’ve jumped out of airplanes, I’m no wimp. But my father was always King of the Grill and then my husband has always been proud of his, so it’s just not been something I’ve ever needed to do. JavaDad was about to leave town and didn’t want to hang around making s’mores, but realized I wasn’t going to touch his new grill without a lesson.

A few twists of some knobs and a push of the ignitor and VOILA, I made FIRE!

This is not how we did it in the Girl Scouts, but pretty darn close.

The final verdict?

Telescoping forks — way cool!

JavaBoy: “Gimme s’more s’mores!”

JavaGirl: prefers to each component separately

Me: “Move over kids, Mommy wants some s’mores!”

JavaDad: “What happened to my grill?”

Other s’mores options:

We tried the “foil packet method” and I burned most of them. I now realized that maybe I didn’t leave room for “air to circulate.” Or maybe I just left them on the grill too long.

We took the show on the road and went to a friend’s house and made them using her fire pit on the deck — way cool. Though she greatly disapproved of the telescoping forks and the long wooden skewers I had and thinks the kids should have to forage through the woods for sticks like we did growing up.

If you’re going to be at BlogHer…

Hershey will have a S’mores “Snacktivity” Suite at BlogHer in booth #4233 and will be giving out S’mores branded bags and will be putting together a mural of photos of favorite S’mores moments.

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Disclosure: As part of the S’mores Road Trip to BlogHer, I received a round trip ticket on Amtrak to the convention, and Hershey-branded items. Any views expressed in this post are my own. Because as y’all know, when it comes to my blog, I write what I want to!

Comments

They were so yummy that I will forgive you the fake “sticks”. Thanks for sharing and for giving me the opportunity to find out that I CAN use my new firepit on my deck without setting the deck and/or house on fire.

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About Me

I'm J.J. Newby and once I had kids, my caffeine intake quadrupled. This blog is for people who have busy lives but still want to feel connected to their families, their communities, and themselves. You'll find tips for simplifying life, making a difference, and having fun -- as well as the occasional self-reflective post. I approach life and my blog with a sense of humor. I highlight family-friendly events in the Metro DC area, especially in my annual Summer Fun Guide.